Turbo Trainer - How to record milage etc

Looking at getting a turbo trainer , but would like to keep track of milage etc .... as the front wheel isnt spinning, how best to do this ...
have seen various turbos that record such things as milage , trip etc on displays but these are a fair bit more money ... can it be done just by using your standard computer?

Mileage is irrelevant on a turbo trainer, you'd be much better off investing in a good heart rate monitor if you haven't already got one. Its a lot more useful to plan your sessions according to effort/cadence rather than miles/speed.

However cateye make wired computers with extra long cables so you can still mount the speedo on the bars and run it off the rear wheel.

I wouldn't bother recording mileage though, you'll never beat glupton/smee/goan (whatever he's calling himself this week) so it might be a bit demoralising to see that you haven't managed the millions of miles that he obviously can...

because in all forms of cycling, distance only tells you how many times your wheels have gone round. Not a lot of use... for instance I could do 4km on the track flat out (in 2mins 27 if I use Glupton-style claims), or 4km down a smooth road descent - they're both 4km but one involves physical effort and one involves none.

But if people think that 'mileage' is relevant on the road/trail, why is it not relevant on a turbo? I'd argue that it's more relevant as there's no freewheeling, so every mm your wheel has 'travelled' has been from your effort input.

If you are using an older style Polar speed sensor (not WIND), then open it and you'll see a little jumper. Mover the bridge across the other pins and it doubles the signal strength (although it affects the battery life, obviously)...

On a turbo most people will go by time, HR, cadence and power output. Speed/distance is largely irrelevant - when you're out on a normal bike you can freewheel, soft pedal etc, on a turbo you're restricted to a range of a few gears to keep the thing going so there's no "down time", no rest. In other words a 30 min turbo session can be more knackering than a 90 min road ride simply cos you're nailing it more yet you might only do 12-15 miles on the turbo compared to 25ish miles on the road but you can't really compare them.

But if people think that 'mileage' is relevant on the road/trail, why is it not relevant on a turbo?

Because out on the trail there are so many variables hills/wind/mud/rain/snow/chatting! etc., that mileage/average speed are your only real benchmarks.

On a turbo, your environment is consistent and controlled so you can plan your sessions precisely, and as crazy-legs says above - in 30 mins on a turbo you can get to the stage where you can hardly stand when you get off!!

iamtheresurrection - Member
If you are using an older style Polar speed sensor (not WIND), then open it and you'll see a little jumper. Mover the bridge across the other pins and it doubles the signal strength (although it affects the battery life, obviously)...

A good fix though

I have a polar cs200 cad with hrm , cadance etc etc ...... though at the moment its playing up by giving me heart rate reading of 200 bpm .. while i`m sitting here typing this !

You can change the strength of the polar transmitter by changing the dip switch in side the sensor.
I can't remember what to set it to but search the polar website and you'll find it.
You'll then have enough range to mount it on the back wheel.
The sensors come in low power mode to stop interference

daveh - intervals are probably the best form of training on a turbo. I'd suggest downloading the latest video from thesufferfest.com . It's a double set of descending intervals (i.e. 1st interval is 2mins, 2nd is 1:45, etc.). Excellent workout, and bloody tough if you're honest with yourself! Decent tunes and race/MTB footage too.

As far as the original question goes, I use a cheap wired computer on the back wheel, but it's still (just) long enough to mount on the bars. I don't use the mileage, etc. but I did count my cadence against speed so that I can use the speedo as a rough cadence guide.

Turbos are not so good for base miles high volume low intensity training were you are looking to keep you heart rate at quite a low level, 3-5hrs of that on a turbo would numb your mind. Much better to use a turbo as part of a training program i.e intervals and working close to your LT for extended periods. Sessions depend on what you are trying to achieve with your training, but remember high intensity intervals working upto your max HR require longer recovery/rest time to prevent injury and over training.

Because out on the trail there are so many variables hills/wind/mud/rain/snow/chatting! etc., that mileage/average speed are your only real benchmarks.

so a 10 mile fast ride on your own with no stops is the same as a 4 hour 10 mile ride with lots of chatting? Time/effort the main things. mileage is pointless unless you specifically want a distance goal out of a piece of work, eg a century. even so - that could be a flat century at 15kph or a hilly century at 20kph, they're very different beasts!

I'd suggest downloading the latest video from thesufferfest.com . It's a double set of descending intervals (i.e. 1st interval is 2mins, 2nd is 1:45, etc.). Excellent workout, and bloody tough if you're honest with yourself! Decent tunes and race/MTB footage too.
sufferfest are excellent although that's no longer the latest one. 'fight club' is really superb if you've only got an hour.

Turbos are not so good for base miles high volume low intensity training were you are looking to keep you heart rate at quite a low level, 3-5hrs of that on a turbo would numb your mind
turbos are great for base miles - it's the riders who can't manage it, not the equipment. I did lots of base miles on mine last year. Managed a couple of 6hr z2/3 sunday mornings, tucked away with a good DVD boxset in the cellar

As Andy P and others have said, cadence, heart rate, power, etc. are important on a turbo trainer, not distance "covered". Measuring distance just seems like something that you would do to say "well I rode 10 million miles this year mwah mwah mwah".

I like to know the amount of miles I covered. It kills me with boredom doing the turbo-trainer. But I try to keep the speed above 18mph and aim for over 10miles covered after the seriously brain numbing half hour session.

i use a wireless computer on mine - i also use a heart rate monitor
(didn't get cadence version but wish i had).
problem with most wireless computers is that they are set to work on front wheels so you may be out of range by using the back wheel - on my setup i have to have the magnet at the top chainstay and angle the computer body down towards the ground in order to get a reading.

I'd agree that the heart rate monitor is the most important tool but mileage is also valuable as a way to measure improvements.
e.g. you do a 30 min workout with set HR zones to work to. record the stats including mileage. do exactly the same workout 4-6 weeks later record the stats and compare - your HR %'s could be the same but as you are fitter you are now pedalling faster and therefore covering more miles.

Don't think anyone else has mentioned it but very small differences to the setting of the tyre/roller resistance can have a massive effect to the effort needed to turn the wheels and hence the distance travelled for a input effort making the distance irrelevant. Don't get too stressed about recording the training - doing the training is the important bit.

Well, that was a bit of a f$%k on. After feeling slightly off this weekend, tonight was the night for my first turbo session. I had to replace the tyre as the rear (brand new!) tyre had split its sidewall whilst sat in the dining room. Setting up the gear in the garage was a bit of a faff but no biggy so I was soon ready for the off. Only I wasn't, the rear tyre punctured, an existing sharp was pushed thru the (old) tyre by the trainer. Bike off, puncture repaired, bike back on, into maybe the 2nd/3rd set of intervals from the Sufferfest video, the rear tyre punctures again. The stick on patch couldn't take the pace and gave out. What with the laptop screen saver timing out (can't change as its locked down by work), uneven floors, gear cables mysteriously unclipping themselves etc etc, it took real will power to continue. Got there in the end though.